NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day

In today's image, we see The Sombrero Galaxy also known as M104. This is an example of a spiral galaxy that we see from an edge-on point of view which emphasizes the dust lanes. This is also enhanced by the fact that it is view in the infrared light which the dust naturally emits. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see what are called ghirigori or star scribbles. These are created by tapping the telescope lightly during the exposure to create different patterns. We can also see the colors associated with the hotter (blue) or cooler (red) temperatures of the stars.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the spiral galaxy known as Messier 51 in a very deep exposure consisting of 255 hours (more than 10 days!) worth of imaging. This allows us to see far more detail than would be visible in a shorter exposure. We can see the tidal streams around the galaxy as well as the red glow of hydrogen outside of this region. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see an image from the Ingenuity helicopter as it flies over the Martial surface. The is the 54th flight of Ingenuity and occurred just a week ago. The ability to move above the surface makes us better able to be able to explore a wider section of the Jezero crater where both Perseverance and Ingenuity are located. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a number of Perseids from the shower of 2018. The shower occurs when Earth passes through debris left behind by a comet. When these tiny pieces of material strike Earth's atmosphere, they become meteors or shooting stars. The current meteor shower will be prominent this week, peaking on Saturday night/Sunday morning. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see our Moon and the planet Jupiter as they pass close together in the sky. This is an example of a conjunction when two objects pass close together. However, even though they appear close together, the Moon is far closer than Jupiter in space!My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the star forming region known as the Pelican Nebula. The patterns seen in the gas and dust are shaped by the hot, young stars that have formed and will continually change. However, the changes occur so slowly that they would not even be noticeable over a human lifetime, but would take tens or thousands of years to be noticeable. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a part of the remnant of a supernova that was seen here on Earth over a thousand years ago. The material has been expanding outward all that time and still has enough energy to excite and ionize atoms in the interstellar material that it passes though.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the nebula known as the Robin's Egg Nebula which is also known by its catalog designation of NGC 1360. This is an example of a planetary nebula which is the end state of a star much like our own Sun.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see crepuscular rays above the rising full moon on August 1 of this year. The next full moon will also occur in August, making it a blue moon - the second time a full moon occurred in the month. Because of the lunar cycle, this happens only every few years. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the trail showing the launch of a Falcon rocked taking a communications satellite into geosynchronous orbit. We also see the descent burns from the return of the two booster rockets. In the foreground, we see a Redstone rocket of the type that carried Alan Shepard into space as the first American to reach space in 1961.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the galaxy known as M 82. This is a spiral galaxy an is also classified as a starburst galaxy because it is currently undergoing a burst of star formation. We also see the galactic wind that is pushing out perpendicular to the disk. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a giant solar prominence as seen along the limb of the Sun. These occur when material from the solar surface is lifted by the Sun's magnetic field and then rains back down on the surface. These can easily be larger than our own planet!My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the largest of the two moons of Mars with the planet in the background. Phobos is in a very low and decaying orbit and will eventually end up crashing into the planet and being destroyed in about 50 million years. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a spiral shaped aurora over Iceland. The aurora are caused when charged particles from our Sun strike Earth's magnetic field and are funneled along toward the magnetic poles. Larger events from the Sun known as Coronal Mass Ejections could cause significant damage to electronics and our electric grid if they strike Earth directly. This last happened in 1859 in what is known as the Carrington Event.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see an image taken by Neil Armstrong showing Buzz Aldrin setting up an experiment to capture some particles of the solar wind. These particles were returned to Earth along with samples of moon rocks for further study.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a newly formed star system consisting of a pair of young stars which are expelling material in jets. The material in these jets strikes the gas and dust around them at high speeds creating what are called Herbig-Haro objects.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a distorted spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Eridanus - the River. The distortion is caused by the gravitational interaction of the galaxy with a smaller, dwarf galaxy just above it in the image. Eventually these will combine together as the larger galaxy will consume the smaller one. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the Prawn Nebula. This is an example of an emission nebula where gas is excited by ultraviolet radiation from hot, young stars and caused to glow. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the star forming region known as the Eagle Nebula with great finger-like formations pointing toward the newly formed cluster of stars. We also find that a good number of these stars are also emitting x-rays which is rather puzzling based on known properties of stars and understanding this is a topic of current research. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the trail of a meteor in the sky. A meteor is a small bit of material in space, often left behind by a comet which strikes Earth's atmosphere at a high velocity and is vaporized. The colors we see are chemical elements associated with either the meteor itself or the atoms in the atmosphere of Earth.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the Antikythera Mechanism. This is believed to be one of the earliest analog computers, dating back 2000 years with the ability to predict the positions of the stars and planets as well as eclipses. Modern scientists are trying to replicate what had been done here to get a better understanding of the capabilities of this ancient machine. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see an image of Neil Armstrong on the surface of the Moon. It is a selfie since the image was taken by Armstrong himself. It is an image of his reflection in the visor of fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a deep exposure showing the galactic cirrus, thin dust clouds located in the direction of the north and south galactic poles. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the galaxy known as M64 or the Black Eye Galaxy for its distinct appearance. This is an example of a spiral galaxy, much like our own Milky Way with the unusual property that the gas in the outer regions rotates in the opposite direction as that in the inner regions. This is possibly the result of an interaction with another galaxy long ago. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft as it is launched on its way to the Moon. When it arrives in late August it will be landing a rover on the Moon's surface to explore the south polar region of our Moon. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the La Palma observatory in the Canary Islands. Above in the sky, we see a number of constellations as well as our Milky Way galaxy. Around it are a number of nebulae within our Milky Way galaxy. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the star known as CW Leonis. This is an example of a carbon star which is a star that has become enriched in carbon relative to a star like our Sun. Some of this material gets expelled out in the rings and arcs we see and will eventually be incorporated into the interstellar medium to become part of future generations of stars. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see our Milky Way galaxy as seen over the Alps. The Milky Way galaxy is our own galaxy as we see it from within. In addition, we see a meteor that made an appearance as the image was being taken. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see an image released a year ago from the James Webb Space Telescope. This is a deep field image, looking at what might be considered a relatively empty region of space to view distant galaxies many billions of light years away. We see the distortion of the light from the distant galaxies as it passes through the gravitational field of a nearer cluster of galaxies. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a recently discovered comet as it made its way toward perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on July 1. In mid-August, it will make its closest approach to Earth but will still be 50 million kilometers away and in no danged of colliding with our planet!My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the nearby star forming region and molecular cloud known as the Rho Ophiuchi region. This is only about 400 light years away, much closer than the often studied Orion Molecular Cloud. The image from the James Webb Space Telescope show the central light year of the cloud which contains about 50 newly formed stars. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the spiral galaxy NGC 1398. This is an example of a ring galaxy which also has a bar across its center. The ring may have been caused by gravitational interaction with another galaxy in the past. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the sunspots that have been visible on the face of the Sun for the first six months of this year. You will see multiple images of each sunspot as they are tracked from right to left across the face of the Sun. More sunspots will be visible over the next year or two as we approach a maximum of solar activity in 2025.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the star forming region NGC 6559. Here we see the three types of nebulae associated with star formation - Dark, dusty nebulae, reed emission nebulae, and blue reflection nebulae. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.